Asbestos worries

bipbap

I've known for a while that we have some undisturbed asbestos insulation (maybe 2' long) on a steam main in the basement, as well as some in the boiler room. Due to an upcoming renovation, I decided to have a company in to assess it and possibly remove it. He pointed out many more spots where there was small fuzz patches of friable asbestos residue just hanging off the pipes and around the fittings and I could see how a little bump would knock it off. He said there was probably originally asbestos on all the pipes and the company who removed it just did a hall-a**ed job of removing it.

We don't know when the removal was done, but we've been there 10 years, so now I'm worried that for the past 10 years I've spent a lot of hours at my tool bench in an area that might have asbestos dust all over from a poorly done remediation.

So I'll likely have this company (who is licensed/insured/many good recommendatons) remove what's left of it off the pipes, but he can't really tell me what is already escaped into the space and how risky it is. He said of course I could throw out everything down there and HEPA the space, but our entire family stuff is down there (tools, photos, collections, etc). Of course, losing stuff is not worth anyone's health, but I'm unsure how necessary that is and how badly contaminated the space could be. The current company is not trying to sell me on a full remediation of the space and while he can't say definitely how bad it is, he seems to think I'm worrying and ovethinking it, maybe based on all the stuff you hear about asbestos.

One more piece of info is that when we were filing for renovation plans 6 months ago, we actually had an asbestos air test done down there and it came back negative, which seems hard to believe now considering there are so many small bits of it hanging off the pipes and a sloppy remediation had been done previously.

Thanks for reading all this- any advice is appreciated!

Kahooli

For one, He can't tell you what is and what isn't asbestos without a microscope. Saying "this bit of stuff here is friable asbestos" is misleading at best.

EBEBRATT-Ed

I think you answered your own question. Your breathing the air and the air tested negative.

I am not doubting the stuff is dangerous under the right conditions....so is cigarette smoking.

Have it removed or encapsulated. The "new" asbestos company is covering his A--

I wouldn't be overly concerned

Leon82

There's probably dust resting on it, not necessarily asbestos dust. It may make it look worse than it is.

You could probably take some swabs and send them out if you want to be 100% sure about it m

Brewbeer

What leaon82 said.
If you don't want to do the wipe testing yourself, hire a company that does testing and remedial design only, not a company that also does abatement.

New England SteamWorks

Relax.

Fred

What @New England SteamWorks said.

Gilmorrie

I served in the fire-room (boiler-room) of a WW2-era navy destroyer. When the guns fired, the whole ship shook, and the fire-room had white particles raining down. I am now age 75, and healthy. Should I be worried?

mikeg2015

Realistically you need a fairly high exposure, but individual response to exposure, like most things is varied.

Don't freak out. It's not as big of a deal as it's made out to be. All the second hand smoke you've been exposed to without your consent all your life is probably much more hazardous.

Kahooli

The incidence of asbestosis and mesothelioma is greatly coupled to daily exposure and SMOKING. So. Dont smoke, and limit your exposure. Remediate what you can but dont get scared out of money.

Dave0176

It’s amazing some people see asbestos and almost get anxiety to point of crying. Even if you sniffed a line like cocaine I doubt anything would happen to you. The media has made this such a scary substance that people are afraid to even look at it. Yes people have died from exposure but in most cases these people were exposed on a daily basis for years without respirators and smoking at the same time. I’ve been through many asbestos classes and symptoms usually occur 30-45 years after heavy exposure, a lot of these individuals said they couldn’t see the person standing next to them because of the amount of asbestos in the air.

lchmb

you've probably got more exposure at a stop light in a city from all the break dust.. glad I live in the country. I grew up in an old mill town..we used to have it falling out of the ceilings...

bipbap

Ok, I'll chill out. Yeah you read things and the internet scares the bejeezus out of you about the stuff and you just don''t want to risk your health- nothing is worth that.
So I'll probably take care of what's there and chill out on what I can't see.

zoom

There are many things to worry about, especially when you have a family and kids.

Fortunately, asbestos is not one of them. It is more of a hassle when dealing with plumbers & contractors who don't want to work around it than anything else.

Get rid of it if it bothers you, but no need to worry about health concerns for you or your family.

Same goes for radon.

dean_20

I'm just a home owner but also an RN and I've cared for many people who had mesothelioma. They got it like Dave0176 said. I also have a one pipe steam system that at one time had all the pipes covered in asbestos. When I got the house all of it had been removed except for two small sections. Out of curiosity I had the basement checked and all came back negative except of course for the two small sections which I had removed. So what Dave 0176 and Zoom said is true.

Lance

I was licensed as an asbestos remover. It is real, some are immune and some not. Dangers are mostly overblown but due to all the circumstances involved. Not everybody has the same situation. Asbestos is harmless when contained, encapsulated, not in the air. When wet it cannot hurt you and when wet is best to remove it. If it was my home I would put on a Tyvec suit, a respirator get a double 6 mil plastic bag and wet the stuff down and remove it to the bag. Twist double fold and tape it shut and ask a disposal company to take it. I would do the same with my suit and gloves. I would wash my respirator before removing and throwaway the filters. I would treat it as asbestos. Or I could take a sample sent it to a lab and get it confirmed.
Hepa vacs are standard tool we use to clean up the rest. An asbestos remover would take an air sample and document the results. The job is done when the air tests are good. this is a synoptic version of what is done. It takes weeks of training and experience to be an expert. A good asbestos remover is a good investment. Chain of custody of debris is a must.

nicholas bonham-carter

You could probably have the pipes re-insulated with fiberglass, and covered with plastic. That would seal it in, and those pipes need insulation for the system to work properly.--NBC

PinkTavo

I think that exposure to asbestos from a stable environment like yours (not tearing down walls or pulling off insulation) is minimal. People who have issues worked in an industry that created high levels of exposure over years. Even then there may not be any issues. I have a friend who worked at an auto garage back in the 60's and when he changed out brake shoes...they would use compressed air to blow all of the asbestos powder out of the drum. He did this nearly every day for 5 years. He is alive and kicking at 69 y.o. As others said....relax.

Fizz

Like every other scare tactic it's over kill. Asbestos is a hazard to those who work every day with it, but if handled properly not a severeproblem. There has not been one documented case of mesothelioma from living in a house with asbestos. I grew-up in a house with asbestos, and as kids, my brothers and I would poke holes in it with screwdrivers, we even played with mercury as our dad was a dentist and my brother brought home a vile of it. Lived there for 25 yrs, my one brother still lives there since we moved there in 1953. I now live in grandparents house, 100 yr old steam heat with asbestos. I've had pipe repaired, and did some removing and replacing with fiberglass, covered the rest with plastic where I could reach. All 3 of us are in our 70's and going strong.